The Shep With No Name
by Don't Mess With Aria
Summary: Mass Effect from the beginning. Stays close to story line, heavier characterization & character interaction. Spoilers abound. *** Fshep lost everything as a child, even down to her name. Now she's pulled into events beyond her control, forcing her up against the wall of her only rule: survive. T for occasional language only.
1. Chapter 1

The Shep With No Name

Chapter One

Shepard woke as she always did; a single beep of the alarm and she had rolled out of her bunk, landing in a crouched position and reaching for the pistol she still had to sleep with, regulation or not. By the third or fourth beep she remembered where she was, and turned off the alarm. By this point, she had realized she was never going to get used to an alarm and a set schedule. On Mindoir, she had been a child; after the slaver attack left only Shepard behind, the Alliance had picked her up and lost track of her. She grew up on Earth an orphan, with no set schedule and certainly no alarms. You slept when you could and where you could, and a sudden noise meant you were about to fight for your life, or any precious food you had managed to hoard. Same thing, really.

Shepard stood up, stretched, tried to let the adrenaline wear out. It wasn't going to, so she dressed in her civvies and headed down to the gym. Two hours of exercise daily was mandated. It was an old rule, back from when ships traveled with no gravity. The idea was, you could slow or perhaps halt the degeneration that inevitably came from zero gravity with a couple hours of exercise. She usually did four. The extra time came out of her sleep; since the attack on Mindoir, she never seemed to need much.

For the first two hours the gym was empty, then other crewmen started to shuffle in. Military or not, they were slow in the mornings. Shepard bumped up the speed on her treadmill and tried not to eye them with contempt. The Marines, she had noticed, were usually sharper than the Navy men. Never leaving your comfy ship did not allow you to breed the controlled panic that Marines who did not die early all lived with. On the ship, a problem usually had to be solved by an engineer, or the big guns. Planetside, a Marine had himself, and any other Marines in the vicinity.

Except Shepard. She had learned by now that she always, only ever had herself. Other Marines died. Or they missed a target that would have killed her.

_ Not one other person on this ship would survive on Earth, _she thought. She finished with her treadmill and started on the weights. More important than aerobics; or at least, they were back in the zero-G days. Shepard was not a scientist, so she didn't really know. Also, she simply had no fucks to give. She liked to keep her muscles strong, so she did. Then she could be ready. No matter what happened, she had survived. She planned on continuing to do so.

By the fourth hour, people had begun to glance at her. Of course the whole ship knew she spent double hours in the gym. Anyone who thought that Alliance personnel didn't gossip was an idiot. When there's only so much to do on a ship, there's a lot of talking. Plus, Shepard was a Commander, not just enlisted or even NCO; that made her interesting to anyone ranked below her, which was pretty much everyone. Her rank was second only to Captain Anderson on this ship.

Well, him and the turian Spectre they were babysitting. Shepard didn't care that he was turian; the last ten years had taught her that everyone is the enemy, human or not. She had a special hate in her heart for batarian slavers, of course, but otherwise, everyone represented the same threat level regardless of genetics. What she didn't like was his Spectre status. His authority came straight from the Council, and he answered to no one. He could commandeer the ship, kill or kidnap half the crew, and there would be no one with the authority to stop him. Although, Shepard reasoned, if he did go section 8, one well-placed bullet could stop him. She would be ready, even if no one else was.

Shepard finished up her gym work, then headed back to the showers. Unfortunately, her rank only entitled her to a bunk for two people instead of four; she and the engineer she shared with did not get a private shower. So every day, she had to set her gun down, in a room with other people in it, and be vulnerable should anyone decide to attack her. Not as vulnerable as they might think, though. While her gym activity was common knowledge, no one but Anderson knew about the self-defense vids she practiced with in her cabin. Engineer What's-Her-Name preferred to spend her off hours socializing, so the bunk was usually empty in the evenings; Shepard practiced then. If someone did decide to attack her while they thought she was naked, unarmed, and helpless, they would have a big surprise coming. Shepard showered quickly, toweled dry, and grabbed her uniform out of her locker. Then, finally, she was able to holster her weapon again, and felt almost safe.

Shepard's omni-tool beeped, then Anderson's voice came out of it.

"I know you're up, Shepard. Bridge in fifteen minutes." She started to wonder what that was about, then stopped herself. If you can't predict what the situation might be, then worrying in advance just slowed you down later. Better to have her full reaction time when whatever was happening, happened. She swung by the mess, not bothering with an actual meal, but instead grabbing a tube of some nutrient something. She sucked it down without tasting it, dumped the tube in the trash, and headed to the bridge. If Anderson wasn't there yet, she would wait. On the way, Shepard heard numerous "hoo-ah"s and raised voices, excited by the shakedown run on this new ship. Some of them were directed at her, but she didn't answer. She might be part of the Alliance, but the Alliance wasn't part of her.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Beacon, Beacon

Entering the bridge, Shepard checked. In her mind only, of course; her body kept moving as ordered and her face betrayed nothing. The turian Spectre was on the bridge alone, for all appearances waiting for her. She stopped about six feet away from him and put her hands behind her back; parade rest. She watched him cautiously for a moment; turians tended to make humans cautious. They generally towered over most humans, and their spiky head crests didn't exactly say "softie."

"Commander Shepard; there you are," Nihlus said.

"Anderson wanted to speak to me."

"Yes, so did I. What do you know of Eden Prime?"

"Colony."

"What else?"

"Human colony," Shepard elaborated. She had no idea what game the Spectre was playing, but she didn't plan on playing along until she knew the rules.

"You don't talk much, do you, Shepard?"

"Sir?"

Nihlus sighed slightly. "Never mind, Shepard. Here comes your captain."

"Shepard; good," Anderson said. He nodded to Nihlus before turning back to her.

"Simple mission. We've found a Prothean beacon, on Eden Prime. You're going to grab it and bring it back."

Shepard waited; if this was all, she wouldn't need to be speaking with both Anderson and a Spectre on the bridge. Anderson raised his eyebrows at Nihlus, who stepped forward slightly.

"It isn't just the beacon, Commander. I'll be watching you to see how you handle the mission," Nihlus said.

Again, Shepard waited. If you could wait long enough, people would eventually start explaining themselves.

"She's a little unnerving, isn't she, Captain?" Nihlus asked.

"Shepard. Nihlus will be evaluating you for consideration as a Spectre."

"I never put my name in for that," Shepard said.

"No, I did," Nihlus told her. "I've heard good things."

"Is this the part where I'm supposed to start kissing ass?" Nihlus turned away, his mandibles twitching lightly in amusement. Captain Anderson grabbed her arm and pulled her further from Nihlus.

"Shepard! It wouldn't kill you to play the game once in a while. Why do you think you're still a Commander?"

"Because I like the sound of it, and lots of people salute me."

"This is good for humanity."

Shepard took a deep breath. "Is this an order, Captain?" Anderson dropped her arm and sighed.

"You know I can't order you to do something like this. _If _you decided to represent humanity, I would prefer it-"

"Then aye, aye. Although I'm not sure how a mission that's effectively running out for some milk will show my suitability as a Spectre."

Nihlus made a quiet choking noise before regaining control and turning back to the conversation.

"It's alright, Captain Anderson. From what I've seen, the better Spectres are usually the ones who didn't ask for it."

"Well, at that rate, she's going to be the best you've got."

_"Captain!"_ the pilot's voice broke through over the intercom.

"Yes, Joker, what is it?"

_"You'll need to see this. Like, now."_

"Patch it through."

The entire back wall of the bridge lit up and images started flashing. Confusion; chaos. Shepard recognized it well. People were dying today.

_"Under attack, under attack," _a voice was saying. The speaker wasn't on screen. Shepard thought the recording was probably being sent from someone's helmet.

_"Outnumbered- ##maneuvered. ### dead, every#### Need evac, nee## ####### Repeat, immediate evac, it's-"_

The transmission ended abruptly, leaving nothing but static.

"Joker," Anderson shouted, "what's our ETA?"

_"Seventeen minutes, getting there as fast as I can, sir. No one else closer than a couple hours."_

"This changes things. Shepard- get Alenko and Jenkins down to the cargo. Nihlus?"

"Yes. We'll go in and get the beacon. I guess we'll get a better test of your abilities than you thought, Commander."

#

Shepard entered the cargo hold at a jog.

"Excellent," Jenkins was telling Alenko as they finished their weapons check. "Finally, some real action. Eden Prime's always so boring."

"Stow it, Jenkins. That's the kind of attitude that gets people killed. Can you handle this mission, soldier?"

"I can handle it," Jenkins replied sullenly. Shepard would have to speak to him about tone later. If there was a later. While Shepard had known a lot of soldiers with his attitude, she had never known them for very long.

_Never mind how he speaks to a superior right now. As soon as we get back, transfer him to something less dangerous until he grows up. Save his life._ Shepard nodded. Anderson would listen to her recommendation. She finished her weapons check, adjusted her armor, then pulled her hair down. Last step before any ground mission, Shepard would re-braid and re-pin her hair. She kept it up normally, but it was sly. It would escape given half the chance. The last place you wanted curls in your eyes was in the middle of a mission. Once her hair was pinned, she pulled her helmet on and half-listened to Anderson explaining the mission to the other two. Her body was already going quiet the way it did before a firefight. Soon, she would cease to exist, until her enemies had ceased to exist. She already knew her duty; most of what Anderson was saying now was no longer important.

"Nihlus is already dropped off ahead," Anderson said. "Are you ready?"

"Ready," Shepard replied absently.

"Are we expecting survivors?" Alenko asked.

"We don't know yet," Anderson replied. "We know that the beacon is the more likely target for whoever's down there. It's our top priority. As soon as you secure the area, a team will be down for survivors, just radio in the locations."

The _Normandy'_s bay doors opened, and Shepard immediately dropped the several feet to the ground, turning quickly to confirm that it was clear before motioning her team forward. They dropped next to her and the _Normandy_ hurried away. Green; rocks. Shepard took in vague shapes and colors and she looked around.

_"Shepard,"_ Nihlus said, his voice coming through her helmet.

"Go."

_"The beacon was halfway between my position and yours. Check it out."_

"Got it." To her team, she said, "Watch for hostiles," and then started running at a half-crouch, moving from cover to cover. Alenko and Jenkins followed, leap-frogging so that only one person was out of cover at any time, and only for a few seconds apiece.

An extended blast from an assault rifle behind her made Shepard spin around, looking for the target.

"Shit! Sorry," Jenkins said. "It was one of the floaty guys. They're just around here. I forgot."

"Soldier. If you don't mind. Could you try not to give away our position by shooting at all the wildlife?" Shepard asked. Jenkins apologized again. Shepard felt a tightening in her chest. This was not going to go well.


	3. Chapter 3

Not Again

Shepard kept an eye on each rock formation, seeing where the best cover was, making sure her team kept safe. They passed more of Jenkins's "floaty guys," some kind of animal, maybe; whatever they were, they took no notice of Marines with assault rifles.

This was the worst part of any mission. There was no fighting yet, no visible enemies. The area was green, and seemed calm; the wildlife had no concerns. Just as she was thinking that this is when people get careless, Jenkins did it.

Jenkins either forgot or ignored his next cover, jogging past it, moving further away from his team.

"Jenkins, down," Shepard ordered, although she knew it was useless. She burst from cover herself, rifle trained where she knew they would appear.

"Jenkins, I said 'down!'"

Instead of dropping like he was trained to do, he half-turned towards Shepard, who was coming up behind him. Behind her, Alenko muttered, "Shit," and also broke cover, staying low like Shepard was.

Three recon drones appeared, as Shepard knew something was bound to do. She fired in succession, not waiting for a shot to hit before moving to the next target, but they had already fired. Jenkins screamed and did a jittery dance from the impacts. A moment later, Alenko's biotic abilities had knocked the three drones Shepard had tagged out of the air.

Shepard knew it was too late, but you had to check anyway. She positioned herself just ahead of Jenkins's corpse, ready to fire should the drones turn out to have had friends.

"Alenko," she said quietly. Alenko crouched by Jenkins and felt for a pulse.

"Dead, Commander."

"Radio in the location. We have to keep moving." She gave him just a minute to make his brief report, then started out. Two, now. Not enough if they ran into any real trouble. Which they would.

"_Shepard," _Nihlus called through the radio. _"I have some dead bodies, here. Burned."_

"Us, too. Burned bodies, burned buildings. Someone hit hard. And we lost Jenkins."

Nihlus tried to say something else, but Shepard heard gunfire ahead. She took off at a run. Alenko said, "Hold on, Nihlus. Situation here," before following.

Shepard dropped to the ground at the top of a gentle hill. There was a rock formation ahead, with a soldier using it as cover. The soldier turned and spotted Shepard, then motioned, _Two. That side._

When the two robots shuffled around the rocks, Shepard and Alenko dropped them. The area was clear, so they made their way to the soldier.

"Report," Shepard said.

"Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams. Team is down. They came out of nowhere. Geth, I think."

"Geth? What are they doing here?" Alenko asked.

"Storytime is later, Alenko. Williams. Where's your CO?"

"Dead, I think. All dead."

"Then fall in. We're here for the beacon."

"I think that's what they wanted, too. The dig site's just ahead. There'll be more of them, though."

"Let's go. Alenko, if you see any in a group, try to knock 'em down for us. Let's move."

#

The pace was slow, stopping frequently to return fire on a geth or check whether a body was as dead as it looked. The site was close, but turned out to not be helpful.

"It was here before," Williams said, looking at an empty hole in the dirt.

"It's not now," Shepard replied.

"_Shepard?"_

"Nihlus. Go."

"_I'm at the spaceport. Not far from your location."_

"They'd know where it went at the spaceport, Commander," Williams offered.

"On my way, Nihlus. You in danger?"

"_Not at the moment. Seems safe enough to wait here."_

"Move, people." Shepard checked her satmap for Nihlus's marker as they started away from the dig site, then heard a single shot.

"That was at the spaceport," Williams decided. The three soldiers picked up the pace, still trying to maintain cover as best they could.

"Shit," said Shepard. "I can't say I much care for the geth's decorator." She jerked her chin towards the giant metal spikes left everywhere, a human body impaled on each one.

"Oh, my God," Williams breathed. "Are those-?"

All three jumped as the spikes retracted and the bodies got up. Some kind of electric set-up seemed to be animating them, but there wasn't much time to study it. Good thing about weird zombie things was, you didn't have to think, you just fired.

#

The spaceport was swarming with those geth-things, but luckily no dead humans still walking around. Shepard fired automatically as the unit rushed their position, grateful for Alenko's ability to sweep a bunch of them back and give them time to fire.

Shepard spotted their Spectre by the crates, lying face-down in a spreading pool of blue. She made her way to him as soon as the way was clear. Dead. All dead. Half the ground team, now. She stayed crouched on one knee for a moment.

"Alenko, make a report."

"Did you know him, Commander?" Williams asked, putting a hand on Shepard's shoulder. Shepard stood quickly, letting the hand fall away. She started to answer Williams, when a sudden noise further in the crates had all three train their rifles on a young man.

"Oh, shit, no," he whimpered.

"You trying to get killed?" Shepard asked.

"Powell, you son of a bitch," Williams said.

"You know him?"

"A smuggler. We had him, too. We were going to pick him up today."

"Take care of this," Shepard told her. Williams moved off to talk to Powell, the smuggler.

Shepard took the moment while Williams was talking to the dock-trash to check her weapons, check her armor, take a breather. Alenko did the same, finishing up just as Williams came back.

"Told him to sit tight here until a shuttle comes. He said the beacon was moved this morning. Down that way," she pointed, "on the other end of the platform. We can ride it right over."

"Good," said Shepard, moving again.

"He also says the "other turian" shot this one. Some guy named Saren." Shepard nodded to Alenko to call it in. In case they didn't get through the mission, Saren's name would be out there.

"Two targets, team. Prothean beacon and some guy named Saren. Move."

#

They took the open train to the end of the platform, trying to keep low while firing on the geth. The geth were no longer patrolling, but milling around as though guarding something. Shepard thought she saw what: an obelisk that could only be the beacon glowed faintly beyond them.

Shepard's omni-tool beeped and she swore.

"What?"

"Charges. Cover me." Shepard holstered her assault rifle and sprinted for the first detonator, sliding behind it for cover as Williams and Alenko tried to keep the geth off her. She yanked off her helmet and started working furiously; unless Williams had some skill she was being modest about, Shepard was the only one who could disarm these, and there was no telling how much time was on them.

"I need forty yards north," Shepard called out the next location. Williams stayed by Shepard, and Alenko moved to clear the path to the next charge.

"Clear," he called out just as Shepard finished with the first one. Shepard ran, disarming each one. Her team had gotten through all the geth left here before she finished the last charge, and stood hovering while she dealt with it. Finally, she got it. It stopped beeping, and Shepard sat for a moment, leaning against it.

"Combatants?" she asked.

"Finished."

"Beacon?"

"Secured, reported in. Waiting for pickup."

Shepard hauled herself to her feet and drew her weapon again. She probably wouldn't need it, but this was the other part of a mission where people got killed. You thought you were done, you started to relax, and then one final surprise came along and ruined your whole day.

Shepard looked around the platform. The geth corpses were creepy. The only sapient robots in the galaxy, no one had seen one in hundreds of years, and they all decided to show up today, here, for a god-damned picnic.

Shepard heard a grunt behind her, and turned, raising her gun. Everything seemed to be in slow motion; this is when she'd be shot, then. This was it.

But no. No enemy, just Alenko. He had approached the beacon and was somehow being held immobile by it. Shepard dropped her weapon and started to run.

She didn't have time for a thought beyond, _Not again._ Then she slammed into him. She had been trying to tackle him, but he fell away, out of her arms, as the beacon kept her, now, in its grip. Probing fingers rummaged through her brain. She tried to fight whatever it was doing, and lost.

Without knowing how it happened, she was suddenly crucified in mid-air, unable to move or scream or stop the flow of images through her brain. As a thousand images passed through her mind in seconds, Shepard could barely feel her nose start to bleed, barely hear Williams trying to keep Alenko from coming back to the beacon to get her.

The blackness dropped over her too quickly for her to feel gratitude.


	4. Chapter 4

Hard For Me to Say I'm Sorry

Shepard started waking before she was even aware of it. At first, all she had was a sense that she was present in her own body. Then, her body started reporting in again. She was lying on something hard and cold. Disinfectant invaded her nostrils. Cheap, too-bright fluorescent lighting burned through her eyelids, seeming to flow liquidly directly into her brain, which was a symphony of agony. Human voices distorted, making sounds like sad brass instruments before they finally coalesced into words.

"Waaah… wahh wah wah waaaah any idea when she'll wake up?"

"I'm sorry, Alenko. At this point, it's not even a certainty that she will wake up," Dr. Chakwas said gently.

_The hell you say!_ Shepard's gray eyes flashed open and she bolted upright in a single motion. It may not have been the best idea, as the lights and colors started swirling around her and words faded into brass-speak again.

It was only for a moment this time, though, and then she was aware again. Someone was trying to force a basin into her hand and Shepard pushed it away. No, thank you. She had never in her life been that sick. Once it was clear she wasn't vomiting, Alenko and Dr. Chakwas pushed her back down onto the metal cot.

Shepard's mind seemed to be blanking out in pulses. She could hear what Alenko and the doctor were saying, but wasn't able to pay attention to it. Thoughts came in like tides, then drifted out again. _Jenkins is dead,_ she would think, then promptly forget it. _Did we get the beacon?_ And then blankness.

_Where is my weapon?_ she wondered, and that thought stuck with her. She sat up again, not as quickly as before, and looked around, nearly panicked.

"Does she need the basin? She didn't seem to want it."

"No," said Alenko. "Commander: your gun isn't here right now." Shepard focused hard on his face, willing the words to make sense.

"Her gun? There are no guns allowed in the infirmary, Commander." Shepard turned her cold gaze on the doctor.

_No guns,_ she told herself, trying to understand. _No guns for me, but no guns for anyone else, either._

"Commander, can you hear me?" Chakwas asked, shining a flashlight into Shepard's eyes. "Do you understand what we're saying? My God, Alenko, look at what her pupils are doing. That can't be good."

Shepard couldn't see her own eyes, but she guessed it had something to do with the way the light was flashing, like some terrible medical-themed dance club.

"Commander Shepard, you will answer me right now," Chakwas said sharply. "I don't know, Alenko. She isn't talking, I'm starting to get really worried."

"Fine," Shepard muttered. Her voice cracked. When was the last time she'd had something to drink?

"What, Commander? Say it again, please."

"I'm fine, Chakwas."

"Oh, well, as long as you think so. Can you tell me who is on the council right now?"

"Yeah, there's… what's her name… and Udina…" A bolt of pain spasmed through Shepard's head and she raised a hand to her face.

"No, not Udina," she corrected. "He's… ambassador."

Alenko and Chakwas exchanged a look.

"Do you remember the last mission?" Chakwas asked.

"Eden Prime. Geth. Beacon." Shepard paused. There was something about that beacon.

"Beacon," she repeated, brow furrowing.

"I'm sorry, Commander," Alenko said. Words tripped over each other in his rush to get them out. "It was my fault, I was careless-"

"You _were_ careless," Shepard said. She remembered that part, now. In an instant, she had hopped down off the cot and was shouting into Alenko's face, punctuating her rage by poking him in the chest.

"You were careless, soldier! That was exactly the same kind of shit Jenkins pulled. If you're going to have to be so fucking stupid, you damn well better not do it under my command again!"

"Shepard!" Anderson yelled, entering the infirmary. "That's enough. Alenko, you're dismissed." Anderson waited until Alenko has escaped before addressing Shepard again.

"What the hell was that, Commander? You'd better think again before you talk to someone under _my_ command like that. Or did you forget that you have a commanding officer, as well?"

"He almost-"

"I don't care. You will control your anger, or you are not fit for duty. Is that clear?"

"Sir," Shepard said, turning to stare at the wall.

Dr. Chakwas, who had been trying to appear invisible through this exchange, spoke up quietly.

"It would really be easier to examine her if she would sit back down. I can't clear her until I'm reasonably certain it's safe."

Anderson gestured, and Shepard sat back on the cot, letting Chakwas poke and prod, check reflexes and sensation.

"Jenkins?" Shepard asked.

"His family still lives on Eden Prime, so he stayed there. We weren't able to spare the time to attend the service." Anderson paused, watching her jaw tighten.

"It wasn't your fault, Shepard. Alenko made that clear in his report."

"You know better than that, sir. I was in charge; everything is my fault."

"You're not responsible for a soldier forgetting his training."

"Someone has to be," she said. Color rose in her cheeks again; she was dangerously close to a shouting match with Anderson.

"_Jenkins_ was responsible for his own lapse. One more word out of you on the subject will be considered insubordination."

Shepard clenched her jaw shut.

"Now. Alenko and Williams both reported that a turian named Saren killed Nihlus. Is that correct?"

"That's what we were told by a local."

"And the same Saren supposedly rigged the beacon to destroy itself if it was approached?"

Shepard's eyes widened. She had not known the beacon was gone.

"Nothing indicated that, sir. I disarmed some charges, but I didn't find any at the beacon. It may have just been a Prothean trap left behind."

"Brain activity," Chakwas murmured.

"Dr. Chakwas said you were showing some interesting brain activity; like dreaming, but not quite. She guessed it might be from the beacon since Alenko had mentioned some imagery. Do you remember anything?"

"After it grabbed me…." Shepard struggled to find words, and instead the images came rushing back. It was slightly easier, now, to identify some of them. "Death. Destruction. …Nothing, nothing left. Wastelands on every planet, corpses…." Her hand made clenching motions just in front of her heart. "Grief. Dread. As if half of everyone you knew was dead, and the other half were about to be. I don't… it isn't very clear."

"I don't know what to do with that. What's clear, though, is we'll have to report Saren to the Council."

"Real person?" she asked in surprise. She had thought the smuggler made it up.

"Spectre. I knew him. Knew him well enough to know that this isn't out of character for him."

"A Spectre, great. Why _wouldn't_ they believe a regular human Marine over one of their turian Spectres?"

"We'll make them listen. You just worry about getting your report done before we dock at the Citadel. The Council will want to speak to you personally, too-"

"Why not? I mean, he didn't want anyone at the beacon, so I already have a target on my back."

"-so do not go into the gym today," Anderson continued as if she hadn't interrupted. "You're on enforced rest."

"Oh, come on," Shepard protested.

"If you like, Captain, I can knock her out for you. Plenty of drugs on board."

"That won't be necessary, Dr. Chakwas. Will it, Shepard?"

"No, sir."

"Then get to your cabin and stay there until we hit Citadel space. File your report. Dismissed."

Shepard hopped down from the cot again, but didn't head directly for her cabin. She had a stop to make first.

Luckily, Alenko was in the mess; she wouldn't have to search the whole ship for him.

"Lt. Alenko," she said. Alenko jumped to his feet and saluted.

"At ease, Lt." Shepard did not fail to notice that every other soldier in the mess had suddenly lost interest in food or conversation.

_Great, an audience._

"Lt., I was out of line. What I said was unacceptable."

"Yes, ma'am. I mean no, ma'am. It's not a problem."

Shepard was painfully aware of the way he was cringing away from her and trying not to. Not to mention the dozen or so pairs of eyes that were locked on her. In fact, the only person who wasn't looking directly at her was Lt. Alenko.

Shepard searched her mind for something else to say, but her brain was still full of the pain-music. Each different pain was a note, and each note was alive. After an awkward silence she muttered, "Soldier," and then left. She had known she had problems with her temper, but had not realized it was still this bad.

_What the fuck do they want from me, anyway? I'm a soldier,_ she told herself. Even she didn't believe it was a valid excuse.


	5. Chapter 5

Author's Note: If you're following my Shep, don't be worried that this chapter signals a permanent change in tone. It's just a breather.

If you don't know Mass Effect: The Citadel is the heart of galactic civilization. C-Sec (Citadel security) patrol it. Spectres are special ops; no rules, no oversight, big budget.

Morning Warrior

Shepard stood in the cockpit, watching Joker work, bringing them closer to the Citadel. Not that she was so anxious to be in the massive floating city, but there were some things it was difficult to get while on mission.

"So, what are you doing with your shore leave, Commander?" Joker asked.

"Cereal."

"Cereal? Are you kidding me?"

"Cereal," Shepard confirmed. "Can't keep milk long on a ship." Joker actually turned in his chair to see if she was kidding; she looked serious, but who could tell? Commander Shepard always looked serious.

"Cereal," he repeated again, in disbelief. "Well, you have fun with that. Me, I'm gonna to sit in a strip club for two days, letting a very gentle asari dancer I know sit in my lap."

"Be careful, Joker."

"Oh, no worries. The bone I need for that doesn't break. We're docked, ma'am. Report?"

Shepard leaned over to press the intercom button.

"We've docked safely, Captain." Anderson did not reply directly, but a moment later his voice echoed throughout the ship, reminding everyone exactly what time they were expected to return. When he said, "Dismissed," Shepard heard a faint cheer and almost smiled herself. Although Shepard, along with the rest of the ground team from Eden Prime, was still on duty for a few hours.

_Still,_ she thought, making her way back through the ship, watching as soldiers jostled one another in their hurry to debark, _the mood is almost kind of contagious._

Williams and Alenko were waiting for just outside the ship. They stood out immediately; everyone else had skipped away in casuals or civvies. The three soldiers still on duty were in armor.

"How long 'til we're on leave, Commander?" Williams asked. "I was stuck on that backwoods colony so long, I need to get into the city."

"Won't be long. Meeting with Udina in half an hour, then whenever he can set up an audience with the Council. The rest of the time will be yours. You both ready?"

"Aye, Commander," Alenko said. Shepard noted that while he no longer appeared terrified of her, he seemed wary. And he stood a little farther away than she was used to.

"Let's go, then. By the time was get there, Udina will be waiting."

#

Udina wasn't actually waiting, but as soon as he saw them, he graciously expanded his railing to include Shepard, as well.

"And there's the trouble-maker!" he exclaimed, turning from Anderson to Shepard. "I hope you remember to sleep on your side instead of your back from now on, since you apparently have nightmares that the whole galaxy needs to know about."

Anderson, standing behind Udina, shook his head, "No," and Shepard realized her hand had been creeping toward the butt of her gun. She corrected its course, putting her hands behind her back, instead.

"Tell me, did it occur to you that when we sent you to pick up the beacon, that we would want it in one piece? And the death toll is just ridiculous, not to mention your getting a Spectre killed."

"That was all Saren, not her! She wasn't even on planet when the civilians were killed," Anderson protested.

"She can explain it to the Council tomorrow. Eleven o'clock. Don't be late. And _try_ to leave your night-terrors out of it, would you, Commander?"

Shepard's eyes narrowed as she marked him in her mind. She had no idea if circumstance would ever allow her to kill the Ambassador, but she promised herself to enjoy it if it happened. Udina turned back to Anderson, who waved Shepard away; dismissed until tomorrow. At least she could tell from Udina's tone that he wasn't being any more polite to Anderson than he had been to Shepard. As soon as the door closed behind them, Williams made a raspberry noise.

"Jeez, that was harsh. What did we do?"

"Don't worry about it, Williams," Alenko said. "Some people think they can talk however they like to someone with lower rank." He looked at Shepard pointedly. She met his eyes evenly until he looked away.

"Never mind. Look, we're supposed to be on-duty until the meeting, but that doesn't make sense now. So, go do what you want. Check in with me at nine tonight, nine tomorrow. Otherwise just make sure you're not too busy to come on the run, if I call you."

"All right," Williams said, high-fiving Alenko. "Kaiden, you like noodles? There was this great place last time I was here…." Shepard waited until they were out of sight, before heading to a different ward for her favorite cereal bar. She hoped it hadn't closed; when was the last time she had actually been at the Citadel? Active duty meant never knowing what was going on anywhere you might call "home."

#

"Shepard!" voices called at her as she entered her cereal bar. It was run by a salarian family, but the décor was one hundred percent Fifties American Diner.

"Take a seat, Commander Shepard. I'll be right with you," Del told her. Shepard slid into a booth in the corner where she could easily see out the glass windows in the front. Del came over and clapped her on the back.

"Shepard, such a long time. Many long months since you have seen us. What will you start with?"

"Tell me you still have Marshmallow Bears."

"Of course, of course. They'll never stop making those. I'll send them right over. Whole milk, yes?"

"Yes, thank you."

Del hurried as only a salarian can, bringing her bowl of Marshmallow Bears and pouring the milk over them at her table. Shepard had no idea how a cereal bar stayed in business, but she hoped it always would.

"I brought you also a menu. When you're ready for your second bowl, may I suggest Cinnamon Bombs? They're very popular."

"Wait, Cinnamon _Bombs_? What happened to my Cinnamon-"

"I'm so sorry to be the one to tell you, Commander. The ones you're thinking of were discontinued by the company. I'll leave you alone for now. Just let me know when you need anything."

Shepard glowered a little. She's out keeping the galaxy safe for human interests, and companies just stop making her cereals? How dare they? Then she was spooning sugary-marshmallow goodness into her mouth and forgot about the Cinnamon whatevers.

"Commander Shepard?"

Shepard looked up to see a turian with blue face paint towering over her.

"Yes. Do I know you?"

"No. Garrus Vakarian, C-Sec. I'd like to speak to you, if you don't mind." Shepard gestured with her spoon to the other side of the booth, and the turian climbed into the seat. His knees were wedged into the table; it was built for smaller races than turians.

"I wanted to ask you- I'm sorry, exactly what is it that you're eating?"

"Marshmallow Bears," Shepard said. She caught the quick movement of his mandibles, downward and outward, "It's okay, you can say it looks disgusting. It's made for little kids."

"Oh, good. It does look disgusting."

Del came by just in time to overhear this. He faltered for a moment, then rallied.

"Hello, new guest! Shepard brings friends to my restaurant. We have many fine dextro-cereals you will enjoy."

"No, thank you," Vakarian said, waving away the menu. "Not much of a cereal guy." Del's shoulders fell, and the turian realized he had made an error.

"Unless, that is, you have my favorite. Ah, what are they called? I forget what they call them outside Palaven."

"You must mean Turian Crispies! Very popular, called 'Morning Warrior' on your homeworld."

"Yes, those are the ones. Do you have them?"

"Of course, sir, I'll be right back."

The C-Sec officer waited for his cereal, watching Shepard shovel her sugar-and-milk concoction into her face. Was this really the Hero of Akuze? She didn't match up to her stories at all.

"So, you wanted something, Vakarian?"

"Yes, I- thank you," he said as Del retuned with his Morning Warrior. Vakarian waited until the salarian was gone, then explained his reason for finding her.

"I've heard you have something on Saren, the Spectre?"

"Where'd you hear something like that?" Shepard asked.

"Doesn't matter. The point is, I don't think you can get him. Everything he does is classified. But I've been working on a few things, and I could use someone who's not afraid to investigate with me. When the Council doesn't help, come find me, okay?"

"Why? I could just be stirring up anti-turian sentiment."

Vakarian watched in horror as Shepard lifted the bowl of sugar-milk to her face, now that the cereal was gone, and slurped the sludge down. His mandibles twitched again as he tried to control his nausea. What had they been talking about?

"Your… your, ah, service record doesn't indicate that you have that particular axe to grind. Besides, it's Saren. I've been trying to catch him on something for months. Whatever you're saying he did, I believe you."

Shepard gestured to Del for another bowl.

"You'd better eat some of those, Vakarian, before he sees you were lying."

Vakarian grimaced and forced half the cereal down his throat. _Why?_ he wondered. He got up quickly as Del approached, not wanting to be offered another bowl.

"Here's how you can reach me," he told Shepard. "Put this on my chit, please?" he asked Del.

"Of course, but you're leaving? You will bring back many turian friends, and I can put in bigger tables to make it more accommodating here, yes?"

"Ah, well, I… I may be leaving the Citadel soon…." Vakarian said as the friendly restaurant owner dragged him toward the register.

Shepard wondered if she should be suspicious of this stranger, who knew her name, her location, and her business twenty minutes after her arrival. Then she realized she had Cinnamon Bombs, and decided to think about it when she was on-duty.


	6. Chapter 6

Chasing a Lead

Shepard hurried toward the Council chambers. Anderson was already waiting for her, with Alenko and Williams nearby.

"Hurry," Anderson said. "They've already started.

"They said eleven!" Williams protested.

"They started early," Anderson replied, his tone tight.

"Typical," Shepard muttered. She glanced at Alenko, then Williams, making sure they were both ready.

All four climbed the short steps to the platform where Udina was already arguing heatedly with the Council.

_Jeez, if he's a smooth diplomat, then what exactly disqualifies me?_

Shepard had some idea of how these things went; she immediately stepped to the edge of the platform, which was high enough up to leave her feeling like she was floating in mid-air. The walls towered around her, and huge holograms showed the asari, turian, and salarian councilors, as well as that traitor, Saren. The holograms were several times life-sized, and Shepard knew the intent was to cow whatever poor sucker was trying to explain himself here. Shepard refused to be intimidated.

"As we've said, Udina, the Council has found no evidence of any connection between Saren and the geth you found on Eden Prime." The asari councilor's voice was silk-covered razor blades; already Shepard understood how this hearing would go.

_Guess that Vakarian guy was right._

"You've been investigating him, haven't you?" Udina demanded.

"The C-sec investigation has turned up no evidence against Saren, either. And my fellow councilors and I would advise you to stay on the subject of _this_ meeting, which is Saren's connection with Eden Prime."

"We have an eyewitness," Udina roared. The asari councilor turned her head, as if too delicate to even answer the screaming ambassador. The turian councilor spoke, instead.

"One dockworker, who by all reports is a drunkard as well as a thief, is hardly irrefutable proof of anything," he said.

"This hearing is a sham," Saren interjected. "I don't know what Anderson's goal is here, but you'll recall this is not the first time this particular human has called a hearing against me." The word "human" sounded like a curse from his mouth. "And the fact that they brought the human who managed to destroy the beacon in question is highly suspect, as well."

"I didn't do a damn thing to that beacon and you know it!" Shepard said.

"A shame. The protégé, following in her master's footsteps," Saren said. "I had hoped Anderson might have started teaching his people their place in the galaxy, by now. Council, you can see they're ready for neither Council membership, nor even a Spectre among their ranks."

"That's not his decision," Udina shouted.

The asari Councilor held up her hand for silence.

"The inclusion of a human Spectre is not the purpose of this meeting," she said.

"I'm not sure what is, then," Saren replied. "They've brought no evidence; just a lot of phony charges and an idea that volume changes the value of an argument."

"Anderson, Udina," the asari said. "Saren is correct in that regard. As you have brought no clear evidence against him-"

"What about the vision?" Anderson demanded.

"A vision?" Saren scoffed. "You know, I dreamed last night that I was walking through a city I've never seen, and a child tried to sell me a varren, right there on the street. Shall that be considered as evidence, as well?"

"I'm afraid we must agree," said the asari Councilor. "As you have brought no clear evidence, the Council is forced to dismiss these spurious charges." She bowed her head prettily, a uniquely asari gesture, and then one by one, the holograms for each of the Councilors disappeared. Saren's remained a moment longer; gloating, Shepard was certain. She glared at him until his hologram disappeared, too.

Udina turned on Anderson, his rage unabated.

"This is your fault! If it wasn't for your history with Saren, the council might have listened."

"I'm the only one who understands, here, that Saren's actions are an act of war against us," Anderson said.

"It may not be relevant," Shepard interrupted. "A C-sec officer basically told me this is how the meeting would go. He also suggested an alternate line of investigation."

"You didn't tell us that," Alenko said.

"I don't report to you."

"Well, who was it?" Udina asked. "Or am I supposed to just populate a list of any officer who might have talked to you?"

"Garrus Vakarian."

"Oh, him." Udina nodded; at least he had heard of him. "Not the best ally we could have, in these circumstances. But go see Harkin; he'll know where he is."

"Harkin?" Anderson protested. "Why not ask the whiskey bottle directly?"

"I think you've helped quite enough for the day, Anderson." Shepard stepped toward Udina, but Anderson waved her off.

"I do need to be less visible on this," he admitted. "You can probably find Harkin in Chora's den; hopefully he hasn't drunk the whole club, yet. Still early. He's about yea tall. Bald."

"I still have words for you, Anderson. My office," Udina snapped, storming away. Anderson nodded to Shepard, then followed after.

Shepard waited only until they were gone, then found the card that Vakarian had given her yesterday and punched his information into her omni-tool.

"No answer," she muttered.

"Well, we don't have to bother with that Harkin guy, right? Why not go straight to C-sec?" Williams asked.

"For the same reason we didn't tell the Council we're still poking around. Any investigation into Saren is just being closed by the people in charge."

#

Shepard, Williams, and Alenko got off at the tram-stop closest to Chora's Den. Shepard hated getting off trains and seeing more ceiling above, narrow hallways ahead. It made it seem like everything was underground. She walked through the narrow hallway in question, when movement caught her eye.

"Down!" she shouted. The three hit the ground just as gunfire started hitting the wall where their heads had been. Shepard signaled for them to cut left, while she slid around the wall to the right. There were only two of them; easily taken care of.

"Gotta be Saren's men," Alenko said.

"Probably. Anyone hit? Good," she said after glancing at them. "Let's keep hands on weapons, people. This can't have been his only precaution."

#

_Clubs are horrible places,_ Shepard decided. The lights kept changing color in time to the music, and every walkway was filled with people dancing, people shouting to be heard over the music. Shepard couldn't dance and didn't drink in public; clubs held no appeal.

The soldiers made their way around the room, looking for their contact. Their progress was stopped by a krogan having an argument with a bouncer, another krogan. Shepard waited; there was never a reason to interrupt an angry krogan, provided he was angry at someone else.

"You tell Fist I'm coming for him," the first krogan insisted.

"Oh, I'll tell him, Wrex. And you'll end up dead in an alley. You're not getting into the offices, so get lost."

The krogan Wrex, snarled, nearly colliding with Shepard as he turned to leave.

"Out of my way, human. I'm busy."

"Aren't we all?" Shepard asked him. He stood for a moment, holding her gaze.

"Don't have time for you, human. Don't run into me again," Wrex threatened. Shepard held her ground until he left, then continued searching the club.

She found the man they were looking for at a table in the back.

"You Harkin?" she asked.

"Maybe, if _you're_ looking for me. Hair that red, you oughta be a dancer here. Or more. I could do some things to you…."

Shepard checked to see if anyone was watching, then grabbed Harkin and slammed him against the wall. Williams and Alenko closed ranks, to hide her from view.

"I could do some things to you, too," she said, drawing her gun to hold it near his face.

"You're Alliance. You can't do anything," Harkin spat.

"I don't know, Commander," Alenko said. "It would be an awful lot of paperwork."

"I don't mind doing some writing," Williams volunteered. Harkin's eyes flashed from Shepard to her two guard dogs.

"Look, Harkin. The sooner you tell me where I can find Vakarian, the sooner I'm out of your hair." Her eyes drifted to where the club's lights flashed off his skull. "No offense," she added.

"Him? He's probably at the clinic. Dr. Michel, in the wards. Said something about 'a lead;' the man talks like a cartoon."

"Thanks, Harkin," Shepard said, letting the man slide down the wall to his feet.

"You think about it, though, before you run Anderson's errands. I know about the Saren thing you're chasing. Your captain's keeping some of that story to himself, I bet."

"What does he mean?" Williams murmured.

"We don't have time for that right now," Shepard said. "Let's see if we can track down Vakarian."

Outside the club, Williams's face lost her grim look, and she broke into a grin.

"That was actually kind of fun," she said. "You do that often?"

"Too often," Alenko complained. "Commander, we backed you up in there, but we can't always-"

"Objection noted, Alenko. Go ahead and write it into your report, too."


	7. Chapter 7

Doctor, Doctor

The doors to the clinic opened, revealing a group of thugs threatening a woman Shepard assumed was Dr. Michel.

"Are we interrupting?" Shepard asked.

"Who the fuck?" one of the thugs yelled. He and his men drew weapons, and Shepard and crew dropped. Williams broke left, Alenko broke right, and all three tried to manage with meager cover as the thug grabbed Dr. Michel and held a gun to her head.

"I don't know who you are, but this isn't your business," he said. Across the room, Vakarian was moving into position. She looked pointedly at Alenko, then Williams.

_Don't shoot the turian,_ she thought at them, _and don't break his cover._

"Doesn't have to be bloodshed," she said aloud. "Just let the doctor go, and everyone can walk away." As she spoke, she slid to her right. As she had hoped, the thug turned to keep Dr. Michel between them.

Then his head exploded as Vakarian took his shot. All hell broke loose, for just a couple minutes. Then all the thugs had been taken care of.

"Nice timing, Shepard," Vakarian said.

"I hope you were sure of that shot, Vakarian," she replied.

"I'm always sure. Dr. Michel, are you hurt?"

"No, I-" Her face screwed up as if she were about to start crying.

"Hey. You're okay now. They're gone," Shepard soothed.

"Dr. Michel, do you know who they were?" Vakarian asked.

"They said they worked for someone named Fist. They didn't want me to tell you about the quarian I treated. She had been looking for sanctuary with the Shadow Broker, so I put her in touch with Fist."

"Shadow Broker doesn't help for free," Alenko commented.

"No, of course not," Dr. Michel agreed. "She had some kind of information to trade."

"And Fist works for Saren now," Vakarian said. "Whatever she has, I'm betting it will be the information we need."

"Dr. Michel, did she mention anything about Saren, or the geth?" Shepard asked.

"She did mention the geth."

"We've got him," Vakarian said excitedly, mandibles thrumming.

"If we can get the info," Shepard said.

"Look, I know you're Alliance, but this is my investigation. If you're going after Fist, I'm coming with you," Vakarian said.

"Yeah?" Shepard asked. _Was that supposed to be a problem?_

"As long as we're going, I know someone- Shepard, is your man all right?"

Shepard turned to see Alenko leaning against a wall, turning gray.

"Shit, Alenko, are you shot?" she asked.

"No, Commander. Just one of my migraines. Damn implant."

"Vakarian, you said you know someone?" she asked.

"A krogan mercenary named Wrex. C-sec picked him up earlier. I know he's been after Fist, too."

"You think he'll help?" Shepard asked.

"I'm sure he can be convinced," Vakarian said grimly.

"Okay, then Williams can take Alenko back to the ship."

"No way, Commander. Not leaving," Alenko said.

"Alenko, you'll only be a liability like this." Alenko was in too much pain to argue the point.

"Fine. But leave me here. I'm sure Dr. Michel can help as well as Dr. Chakwas. No need to lose Williams, as well."

"Dr. Michel, are you familiar with the problems the L2 implants have?" Shepard asked.

"Yes, of course."

"Then take care of Alenko. Williams, Vakarian, let's go."

#

Shepard and Williams followed Vakarian to C-sec headquarters. The Citadel was getting crowded this time of day, but it was amazing how a turian with a badge was able to clear foot-traffic.

"It's probably best if I take lead on this," Vakarian said.

"It's your dance, Vakarian," Shepard agreed. Following him, they were able to move through C-sec without a dozen searches and explaining their purpose to every officer there. He led them to an interrogation room, where a hurried conversation between Vakarian and another officer got them in.

The krogan Wrex sat at the table, seeming to take up the whole room.

"I'm not saying anything else, so you may as well cut me loose," he grumbled as they entered.

"I can get you released," Vakarian promised. "But we need to find Fist. I know you know where he is."

"Of course I do," Wrex said. "Get me released, first." Shepard slammed an armored fist down on the table.

"We don't have time for this crap. Vakarian, are you a liar?"

"No, ma'am."

"See, Wrex? Tell, and then we can all go get him."

"Who the hell are you?" Wrex asked.

"Commander Shepard, Alliance."

"I've heard of you." Wrex considered for a minute. "He's at his stupid club. You promised I could go with you. Don't screw me on this."

"Let's go," Vakarian said. Shepard marveled at how easy it was for him to get Wrex out of here. Did they have no reason to hold Wrex in the first place, or was Vakarian just that good? Shepard noticed that Williams hadn't said a thing since before the clinic. She took a moment while Vakarian was forcing the paperwork through to check on her.

"Everything all right, Williams?" she asked.

"Yeah, it's just- Don't worry about it, Commander. I got this."

"You'd better. I need to know I can rely on you, here."

"I'm good, Commander," Williams said.

"All set," Vakarian announced. "You good to go?"

"Let's go find Fist," Shepard said.


	8. Chapter 8

Bodies in the Club

They followed Vakarian back to Chora's Den, then he fell back to let Shepard take the lead once they were there. Shepard approached the door. As it slid open, Shepard took one step through, then shoved herself backward.

There was no music playing.

Ordinarily, this maneuver would have sent her human squad to the ground, bringing everyone out of the line of fire. Unfortunately, she had forgotten that directly behind her were a turian and a krogan, each probably running at least double her weight.

Vakarian reacted just as quickly, however, shoving Wrex into Williams to get them out of the way, and dragging Shepard to the ground before gunfire erupted from the club.

"_Why_ does every thug on this station have a gun, Vakarian? What does C-sec actually do?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, Commander," he replied. "We're usually just waiting around for some Alliance cowboy to come show us where the bad guys are."

Shepard gestured for Wrex and Williams to slide right, then she was through the door and sliding left, Vakarian tight behind her. The four moved like a well-built machine, lining up targets and taking them out.

"Get down," Vakarian yelled, pushing Shepard over again. He shot the gunman who had been lining up on Shepard from above before she could be shot herself.

Vakarian and Shepard kept moving around the circular room, meeting Wrex and Williams on the other side, behind the bar. The club behind them was littered with bodies.

"That's the door to the back offices," Vakarian remarked. The four stayed low, expecting more resistance.

"Stay back!" someone yelled. Shepard and Vakarian looked at the same time.

"Warehouse workers? Is that all that's left?" he asked.

Shepard took in their age, and the way they couldn't quite hold their weapons without trembling. She got up, walking straight for them with her gun lowered.

"You should take a hike, kiddos. We already got all the real guards," Shepard told them.

"Yeah… yeah, I think so." The warehouse workers started to walk past them.

"Vakarian," Shepard said. Vakarian put out an arm to block their exit.

"You'll be leaving those behind," he said, indicating their weapons. The workers each set their gun on the floor and scurried away. Wrex and Vakarian each grabbed one, securing them in case someone else dropped by.

They burst through the door at the end of the hall at the same crouch they had used through the club, and Fist's security system activated. It sprayed the walls above and behind them while they waited for an opening to take a shot.

Shepard hurriedly worked on her omni-tool, and a moment later both miniature defense turrets erupted in smoke and stopped firing.

"Oh… Hey, I'm unarmed," a voice called out.

"You'd better be," Shepard said. "If I see a weapon, I'm firing on you." She waited for the clunk before leaving cover to approach the man she presumed to be who she was looking for.

"You Fist?"

"Yeah. Are you… are you from the Shadow Broker already?" he asked.

"Where's the quarian?" Shepard demanded. Fist didn't answer, and Wrex pushed his way forward, laying his gun on Fist's temple.

"He's not gonna talk," he rumbled. "I kill him now?"

"Wait," Fist yelled. "I told her I'd set up a meeting. But the Shadow Broker doesn't meet anyone. It'll be Saren's men waiting for her."

"Where?" Shepard barked again.

"Back alley. By the markets. If you go, you can get there in time."

Wrex fired as soon as Fist was done talking.

"What are you doing?" Vakarian asked in horror.

"It's done, Vakarian. No time to discuss it, either, if you want that quarian's intel," Shepard said.

They made their way back through the club, pausing briefly to return fire on Fist's late-arriving reinforcements. They joined their dead comrades; it was going to be a hell of a shift for the clean-up crew today.

"Back alley?" she asked Vakarian as they jogged through the door.

"This way," he said. Shepard had to run hard to keep up with his longer stride. She had no idea if Williams or Wrex were keeping up.

They reached the back alleys, unsure of which direction to take. Vakarian pushed a few buttons on his visor, seeming to scan through the walls into the other alleys.

"Here," he announced, taking off running just as the other two caught up. Shepard sprinted again, trying to stay with him.

They found the quarian, a trio of assassins just approaching her.

"Drop your weapons," Shepard yelled. Instead, they fired on Shepard and Vakarian. Shepard and Vakarian dropped and returned fire, taking out two of the assassins in short order. Shepard was about to get the third, when she heard a roar behind her.

"I… AM… KROGAN!" Wrex bulldozed into her, knocking her down as he charged by. He didn't slow, but crashed straight into the last remaining assassin; Shepard tried not to shudder at the hideous crunch as the assassin was trapped between krogan and wall.

"Well, that should do it," Vakarian commented dryly.

"Check 'em," Shepard ordered. She moved to the last assassin, the one Wrex crushed. He was dead any minute, but for right now, he breathed shallow, wet breaths. Shepard put her gun against his head and pulled the trigger. Vakarian heard the shot and rounded on her.

"Commander, if he was still alive, he might have had some information for us," he reproved.

"And you're okay with leaving him in that condition, to answer questions? There's a word for that."

"Excuse me, commander?" Williams asked. Her gun was trained on the exo-suited quarian. "Did you want to speak to the quarian, or what?"

Shepard put herself between Williams and the quarian, pushing the nose of Williams's rifle towards the floor. Williams drifted off, keeping her gun at the ready.

"We need the evidence you have on Saren and the geth," Shepard said.

"Who are you people?" the quarian asked. "Are you with the Shadow Broker?"

"We just saved your ass. I'm with the Alliance, and that evidence might prove Saren's a traitor and stop a war before it happens."

The quarian crossed her arms over her chest, considering.

"I can help you," she decided. "But can we get out of here, first? It does not seem safe."

"Take her to your embassy," Vakarian suggested. "You can make your report at the same time."

Shepard glanced around, spotting Williams a few feet away. "Williams, are you all right? You can head back to the ship for a breather, if you like."

"I don't know, Commander. Are you sure you want me to leave you alone with all these _aliens?_" Williams asked.

Shepard crossed quickly to stand in front of Williams.

"You have crossed a line, Williams. It is no longer optional. Go back to the ship."

"Hey, I was just-"

"Get out of my face. Now," Shepard told her. Williams made a noise of disgust and walked away. Once she was gone, Vakarian commented.

"You know, if I were talking to a turian, I might call you an alien. It's not necessarily derogatory," he said.

"It was, the way _she_ said it," Wrex countered.

"I'm just saying-"

"Can it, you two. I'm taking her to the embassy. Anyone who's still on board can follow as long as they don't bicker the whole time."


	9. Chapter 9

Shepard led Vakarian, Wrex, and the quarian whose name she didn't know to the human embassy.

They could hear Udina yelling at Anderson before they had even opened the door. Vakarian snickered a little, but Shepard tried to ignore it and walked through the opening door.

"And there's Shepard again," Udina said. "You're making my life very difficult, you know, and- Who are all these people?"

"Garrus Vakarian, C-sec," Shepard gestured. "And Wrex. And-?" She looked to the quarian.

"Tali'Zorah nar Rayya. On Pilgrimage, from the fleet." Under her swirl-patterned hood, she nodded her head in greeting.

"Tali'Zorah may have some evidence for us," Shepard said.

"Yes. I had been tracking some geth. Looking for any usable information. I managed to pull this core from one unit before it deactivated."

"You got one out intact?" Anderson asked, impressed.

"Not quite," Tali replied. "But I did recover this." The quarian pushed buttons on her omni-tool until a recording started playing.

"…_Eden Prime was a major victory. The beacon has brought us one step closer to the Conduit."_

"That's Saren's voice," Anderson declared. "We've got him, then."

"Oh, hang on. This stupid… one moment." Her fingers raced as she entered code on her omni-tool faster than Shepard could track it. "Here we go."

"…_Eden Prime was a major victory. The beacon has brought us one step closer to the Conduit."_

"_And one step closer to the return of the Reapers."_

"I don't know the second voice," Udina said, his tone implying that it was someone's fault he didn't. "What does she mean by 'Reapers,' anyway?"

"The geth worship them as gods," Tali said. "Supposedly, they are an ancient race of sapient machines that live beyond dark space. Fifty thousand years ago, they wiped out all the Protheans, and then vanished again."

"Ridiculous," Udina said.

"No, it isn't," Shepard said. "That was the vision. It was the Reapers, wiping out every Prothean they could find." Anderson nodded, Tali just listened, and everyone else shifted uncomfortably.

_Visions?_ Vakarian wondered. _That doesn't bode well._

"At any rate, what I've gathered seems to indicate that Saren has promised the geth he will bring their gods back."

"Bah," Udina said. "Well, we'll have to tell the Council about Saren, anyway. But as for these machine-gods…."

"They'll go great with the vision the Council doesn't believe in," Shepard said, for once agreeing with the unpleasant ambassador.

"Stick to the audio files," Anderson advised. "We have to bring Saren down before anything else."

"I'm coming with you. They're my files-" Tali argued.

"Relax. Why do people keep asking me, as though I can bar them from parts of the Citadel?"

"I think, Commander, people may be getting the impression that you can," Vakarian said.

"Are you people quite finished?" Anderson asked. "We'll go ahead and set up the meeting. Don't dawdle; we won't get to pick a convenient time." He started for the door. Udina followed, but stopped in front of Shepard.

"I'm going to have to call an emergency meeting for this. If you make me look bad, there will be hell to pay," he told her.

"Noted," she replied. Turning to her new acquaintances, she asked, "Are you all coming? It should at least be entertaining."

"We'll get to kill something?" Wrex asked.

"Probably later," Shepard said.

"Well, Tali wants to keep her recording, and I'm after Saren anyway," Vakarian said. "Shall we?"

#

Udina played the recording from Tali's omni-tool, a triumphant snarl pasted on his face. Shepard and Anderson flanked him, and Wrex, Tali, and Vakarian waited behind them.

"There's your proof," Udina said.

The councilors' giant holograms looked to each other before the turian councilor spoke to Udina.

"Under the circumstances, Spectre Saren will be stripped of his status and any resources. He will be made to answer for his crimes," he said.

"I recognize the second voice," the asari councilor said. "It belongs to Matriarch Benezia."

"Should we know who that is?" Shepard asked.

"She is a powerful biotic, a formidable ally for Saren," the councilor explained.

"I'm more concerned about these 'Reapers,'" the salarian councilor interrupted.

Shepard winced internally.

"An ancient race of machines," Anderson explained quickly. "They destroyed the Protheans then vanished."

"The geth believe they're gods," Shepard added, realizing how stupid this would sound to the Council.

"The Conduit is somehow key to Saren's plan to bring them back. It's why he attacked Eden Prime," Anderson said.

"Conduit? What is it?" the salarian councilor asked.

"We only know that Saren thinks it can bring back the Reapers," Shepard said. Shepard didn't miss the look that passed between the three councilors. Already humans were seen as newcomers, a child-race. Now they were asking for Mommy to check the closet for monsters.

"Impossible," the turian councilor said. "Where are they now? Why did they come here, wipe out a race, then leave? Why haven't we ever suspected them? It doesn't make any sense; they're not real."

Shepard knew how little sense it made, but she couldn't stand having him talk down to her like that; like she was too stupid to understand.

"I warned you before; you didn't want to hear that, either," she said.

"Yes, Commander Shepard," the asari councilor said. "You've done very well bringing the evidence against Saren to our attention." Her tone was the one you might use for a dog learning a trick, or perhaps a particularly slow child who finally managed to go in the potty.

"These 'Reapers;' obviously a myth he's using. Manipulate the geth," the salarian councilor said.

"It happened fifty thousand years ago," Shepard said. "It will happen again, if Saren gets his way." The vision filled her mind again, as if mentioning the events called it forward. She could see it more clearly each time. This time, in addition to all the scenes of dying Protheans, there were images where the victims were turian, asari, salarian.

Human.

"Don't worry about Saren," the turian councilor said. "Without his resources or access, he can't do anything."

"Send a fleet, anyway. He has to answer for what he's done," Udina demanded.

"No, no, no," the salarian councilor said. "Into the traverse? Won't find him. One man, whole fleet."

"It can keep him trapped," Udina reasoned. Shepard almost smiled, noticing that Udina's "reasoning" was an average person's "arguing."

"We will not risk a fleet on just a few human colonies so far away from everything. Nor will we risk a war with the Terminus systems by such a drastic move," the turian councilor said. Shepard heard the emphasis on fleet; no, they don't want to risk a _fleet; _nothing so drastic as a whole_ fleet._

_Of course, _she thought, realizing what they wanted.

"Send me," she said.

"Yes, of course. Shepard can do this," the asari councilor said quickly.

"They're not ready for a Spectre," the turian councilor said.

"I have earned the right to see this through," Shepard said. "I will do it with or without Spectre status." _Preferably without, if you don't mind._

The turian councilor nodded at her approvingly.

"Commander Shepard, step forward," the asari councilor commanded.

_Damn it._ She could hear knells of doom as the councilors spoke, bestowing upon her almost unspeakable power.

"It is the decision of the Council that you be granted all the powers and privileges of the Special Tactics and Reconnaissance branch of the Citadel." _Doom._

"Spectres are chosen, individuals forged in the fire of service and battle. Those whose actions elevate them above the rank and file." _Doom._

"Spectres are an ideal; a symbol. The embodiment of strength, determination, and self-reliance. They are the right hand of the Council, instruments of our will." _Doom._

"Spectres bear a great burden. They are protectors of galactic peace, both our first and last line of defense. The safety of the galaxy is theirs to uphold." _Doom, doom, doom._

_Unlimited power and no oversight. What a brilliant idea for breeding monsters._

"You are the first human Spectre, Commander. This is a great accomplishment for you and your kind."

"Thank you, Councilors," Shepard said.

"You can go get Saren, now," the salarian Spectre said.

"I will," Shepard replied.

"This meeting is adjourned," the asari councilor said. One by one, their oversized holograms turned off again.

"Congratulations," Anderson said.

"You'll need a ship. Supplies. Come, Anderson. We have more work," Udina said.

"Go to C-sec requisitions," Anderson advised before following Udina away.

"You'd think the ambassador would be more pleased," Tali grumbled. "He didn't even thank you."

"Don't worry about it," Shepard said.

"Well, I'll give you one thing," Vakarian said. "It was entertaining, as promised. Although, I've never seen someone lose that much color over a promotion. You looked like you were hearing your own death sentence."

_I was. They've given me nearly-ultimate power, and somehow, I have to not fuck it up._

Shepard straightened. "It doesn't hurt to be aware of the responsibility involved."

"No, it doesn't," Vakarian agreed. "So… as a Spectre, now, you know you'll be allowed to choose your own crew?"

Shepard looked around. Tali was leaning forward slightly. Vakarian was trying to look casual and failing; Shepard knew he still wanted to bring Saren in. Wrex was doing a better impression of nonchalance, but even he clearly wanted to come along.

"Well," Shepard said. "Tali'Zorah, you're still researching the geth, right? I could probably use another person with your tech skills."

"Yes, Commander," Tali replied.

"Wrex. I don't think any krogan's had a chance to fight geth in… must be hundreds of years," Shepard continued.

"I'll fight," Wrex said, "but you pay me."

"Oh, knock it off, you big -," Shepard's translator buzzed as Vakarian called the krogan something it couldn't catch.

"Easy, you two. I can promise the potential for honor and glory, Wrex."

"Good enough," he ceded.

Finally, Shepard looked to the turian.

"Vakarian. I can't think of a single reason you'd want to go," she said.

Vakarian's mouth fell open in shock, mandibles wide.

"But I- and Saren- you can't," he sputtered. Then he caught her smile, realized she was kidding, and drew himself to his full height.

"That isn't funny," he insisted.

"You're right," Shepard said. "And if I've offended you so badly that you'd rather stay here-"

"Stuff it, Shepard, Saren's mine. I'm coming."

"Okay. So, everyone get whatever gear they need. Meet me back in the embassies in… two hours?" Shepard said. Three different alien faces nodded back at her.

_Ten minutes as a Spectre, and already I have a crew._ Well, it couldn't be all bad.


End file.
